Question: Do hummingbirds have preferences for different flavors?
Hypothesis: I believe that they won't like different tastes from what they're used to, specifically, a nectar formula. I believe this will be the truth, as hummingbirds do have a sense of taste. They might believe the other liquids are poisonous, or just not nutritional.
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Introduction: Originally I was going to find out how hummingbirds react to different scents, but due to the fact I found out they have virtually no sense of smell, I decided to do something different, but in a similar field.
Hummingbirds re-purposed their umami, or savory, receptor to taste sweet things, due to the fact they feed on nectar rather than meat. I find this incredibly interesting. I wonder if they can taste the difference between different sweets.
However, hummingbirds also feed on a wide variety of insects found in the flowers they sip nectar from. Giving their public image of only drinking nectar, they have an astoundingly large range of things they feed on.
Previous studies on this subject include one done by Maude W. Baldwin and her colleagues at Harvard, who placed hummingbirds in a room with feeders filled with water and nectar formula. The hummingbirds in the study quickly rejected the water and set on the formula. This leads me to believe they may do the same with my study.
Variables: Dependent: How much liquid is consumed. Independent: Types of formula used. Control: Type of nectar formula usually used in feeder. Location of feeder. Type of feeder used.
Methods and Materials: Materials: Hummingbird feeder, water, two different flavors of formula, including control Procedure: Record how many milliliters of each liquid is consumed over the course of a week. Draw conclusions from the results. The more liquid consumed, the more the hummingbirds must like it.
The feeder I'm using is suction-cupped to a window near my kitchen, so I can see both it and the birds. It's bright red with three outlets for the birds to drink out of.
The two flavors I will be using are the sugar water and sugar water with diluted fruit juice (as to not hurt the bird with the acidic properties.) I will also be using water to see how much non-nutritional fluid they're willing to drink. I will be using 6 ounces, or 177 milliliters, of formula to start.
Recipe for orange formula: 50 ml water, 12 ml orange juice, 115 ml control formula. I've watered down the orange juice due to the fact the acidity can be dangerous to hummingbirds.
Progress:
Data for control collected. Started with 177 milliliters. Ended with 150. 17 milliliters were consumed. Due to my personal schedule, week one was more around nine days than seven. I doubt this will affect the study much.
Data for orange test collected. Started with 177 milliliters. Ended with 177 milliliters. I guess they don't like orange juice.
Data for water test collected. Started with 177 milliliters. Ended with 177 milliliters.
Notes:
Rain has driven off hummingbirds, and along with the recent cold snap, I fear my data may be affected by other variables.
Estimation for water test - they won't drink any. There aren't any freaking hummingbirds to drink it.
I'm pretty sure there aren't any hummingbirds left in this state. Today I will measure the water levels. Judging by visual observations, I don't think they have taken any.
Results:
As you can see from the graph, the only formula consumed was the control, the formula usually used in the feeder.
However, the control was also the formula used during the first week. This was before the hummingbirds started to migrate. Though I believe there is still accuracy within my experiment, there are clearly other variables at work.
Discussion:
My hypothesis was partially supported by my results. The hummingbirds only drank the control formula, the formula in the feeder under normal circumstances. However, the fact remains that there were a number of other things that affected this experiment, such as weather, temperature, and even perhaps the extra days in week one. Therefore, though I still believe my hypothesis to be accurate, I am obligated to label this experiment inconclusive.
In the study I mentioned earlier, the hummingbirds were under far more controlled conditions. Differences from this study include it taking place outside, the feeders being presented at different times, and of course, the addition of the orange formula. Perhaps it actually was too acidic, and the hummingbirds knew it wasn't a good idea to drink it.
If I were to try this experiment again, I would do it July or August, when the hummingbirds are still around where I live. I would check the forecast, and only measure data during the sunny weeks. I would also do more research on what is and isn't safe for hummingbirds to drink, so I could experiment with more interesting and unusual flavors. I would also attempt to keep the weeks the same length, and find a way around my personal schedule. It also may be a good idea to put out all the feeders at the same time.
Conclusion:
Hummingbirds, according to previous studies, can discern the difference between sugar water and regular water. I believe they can also detect small differences in different formulas. However, due to other variables intruding on this experiment, it's not fair to say my hypothesis is supported. This experiment would have to be done again to get a clearer answer.
"Evolution of Sweet Taste Perception in Hummingbirds by Transformation of the Ancestral Umami Receptor." Sciencemag.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
"Scientists Solve Mystery of How Hummingbirds Taste Sweetness." National Geographic Blogs. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
Question: Do hummingbirds have preferences for different flavors?
Hypothesis: I believe that they won't like different tastes from what they're used to, specifically, a nectar formula. I believe this will be the truth, as hummingbirds do have a sense of taste. They might believe the other liquids are poisonous, or just not nutritional.
Introduction: Originally I was going to find out how hummingbirds react to different scents, but due to the fact I found out they have virtually no sense of smell, I decided to do something different, but in a similar field.
Hummingbirds re-purposed their umami, or savory, receptor to taste sweet things, due to the fact they feed on nectar rather than meat. I find this incredibly interesting. I wonder if they can taste the difference between different sweets.
However, hummingbirds also feed on a wide variety of insects found in the flowers they sip nectar from. Giving their public image of only drinking nectar, they have an astoundingly large range of things they feed on.
Previous studies on this subject include one done by Maude W. Baldwin and her colleagues at Harvard, who placed hummingbirds in a room with feeders filled with water and nectar formula. The hummingbirds in the study quickly rejected the water and set on the formula. This leads me to believe they may do the same with my study.
Variables:
Dependent: How much liquid is consumed.
Independent: Types of formula used.
Control: Type of nectar formula usually used in feeder. Location of feeder. Type of feeder used.
Methods and Materials:
Materials: Hummingbird feeder, water, two different flavors of formula, including control
Procedure: Record how many milliliters of each liquid is consumed over the course of a week. Draw conclusions from the results. The more liquid consumed, the more the hummingbirds must like it.
The feeder I'm using is suction-cupped to a window near my kitchen, so I can see both it and the birds. It's bright red with three outlets for the birds to drink out of.
The two flavors I will be using are the sugar water and sugar water with diluted fruit juice (as to not hurt the bird with the acidic properties.) I will also be using water to see how much non-nutritional fluid they're willing to drink. I will be using 6 ounces, or 177 milliliters, of formula to start.
Recipe for orange formula:
50 ml water, 12 ml orange juice, 115 ml control formula. I've watered down the orange juice due to the fact the acidity can be dangerous to hummingbirds.
Progress:
Data for control collected. Started with 177 milliliters. Ended with 150. 17 milliliters were consumed. Due to my personal schedule, week one was more around nine days than seven. I doubt this will affect the study much.
Data for orange test collected. Started with 177 milliliters. Ended with 177 milliliters. I guess they don't like orange juice.
Data for water test collected. Started with 177 milliliters. Ended with 177 milliliters.
Notes:
Rain has driven off hummingbirds, and along with the recent cold snap, I fear my data may be affected by other variables.
Estimation for water test - they won't drink any. There aren't any freaking hummingbirds to drink it.
I'm pretty sure there aren't any hummingbirds left in this state. Today I will measure the water levels. Judging by visual observations, I don't think they have taken any.
Results:
As you can see from the graph, the only formula consumed was the control, the formula usually used in the feeder.
However, the control was also the formula used during the first week. This was before the hummingbirds started to migrate. Though I believe there is still accuracy within my experiment, there are clearly other variables at work.
Discussion:
My hypothesis was partially supported by my results. The hummingbirds only drank the control formula, the formula in the feeder under normal circumstances. However, the fact remains that there were a number of other things that affected this experiment, such as weather, temperature, and even perhaps the extra days in week one. Therefore, though I still believe my hypothesis to be accurate, I am obligated to label this experiment inconclusive.
In the study I mentioned earlier, the hummingbirds were under far more controlled conditions. Differences from this study include it taking place outside, the feeders being presented at different times, and of course, the addition of the orange formula. Perhaps it actually was too acidic, and the hummingbirds knew it wasn't a good idea to drink it.
If I were to try this experiment again, I would do it July or August, when the hummingbirds are still around where I live. I would check the forecast, and only measure data during the sunny weeks. I would also do more research on what is and isn't safe for hummingbirds to drink, so I could experiment with more interesting and unusual flavors. I would also attempt to keep the weeks the same length, and find a way around my personal schedule. It also may be a good idea to put out all the feeders at the same time.
Conclusion:
Hummingbirds, according to previous studies, can discern the difference between sugar water and regular water. I believe they can also detect small differences in different formulas. However, due to other variables intruding on this experiment, it's not fair to say my hypothesis is supported. This experiment would have to be done again to get a clearer answer.
Bibliography:
"Attracting Hummingbirds." Attracting Hummingbirds. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
"Evolution of Sweet Taste Perception in Hummingbirds by Transformation of the Ancestral Umami Receptor." Sciencemag.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
"Scientists Solve Mystery of How Hummingbirds Taste Sweetness." National Geographic Blogs. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
"Ruby-throated Hummingbird." Outdoor Alabama. N.p., 16 July 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2015.